Abstract
The article considers the correspondence between the poetic world of Nikolai Zabolotsky and the activity of the Russian Society of Amateurs of Natural Sciences that worked in Saint Petersburg – Petrograd – Leningrad between 1909 and 1932. In 1928, in the Mirovedenie Journal (Russian for Natural Sciences) astronomer and science historian D. O. Svyatsky published an article entitled A Tale of Star Chigir and the Telescopic Observations of Galileo (From the History of Astronomy in Russia). It considered the Russian translations of the astronomical and astrological compiled works of the 16th and 17th centuries (A Tale of King Solomon of What Is Great Sorrow and Wherefrom It Shall Come and others) which related to the mysterious Star Chigir. Zabolotsky’s poem The Mad Wolf (1931) was not only inspired by the poet’s meeting with K. E. Tsiolkovsky but also his impressions following his reading of the abovementioned article and has data proving his acquaintance with works of historians, ethnographers and folklorists that mentioned Star Chigir (I. P. Sakharov, A. N. Afanasyev, A. I. Sobolevsky, A. S. Yermolov, V. N. Perets). Other instances of Zabolotsky’s mentioning of stars, constellations, planets, telescopes and astronomers (both during the early and late periods of his work) are most likely connected with the Russian Society of Amateurs of Natural Sciences which considered the synthetic and almighty science of the future as rooted in the occult science of the old times and popular astronomy.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call